1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk player, and, more particularly, to an optical disk player with improved opening and closing operations of a door, and improved transport of a tray, and an improved pivoting structure of a chassis to pivot a turntable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an optical disk player records information on an optical disk by emitting light to the optical disk, which is a recording medium, or reproduces information that has been recorded on the optical disk from the optical disk.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional optical disk player includes a body 10, a frame 20 installed within the body 10 to be able to pivot, a chassis 30 mounted on the frame 20, and a tray 40. The tray 40 includes a placing surface 41 where an optical disk D is placed. The tray 40 moves in and out of the body 10 so as to transport the optical disk D. Also, the conventional optical disk player includes a turntable 32 on which the optical disk D is placed and an optical pickup 31 that records/reproduces information on/from the optical disk D that is placed on the turntable 32. The optical pickup 31 is installed to be able to reciprocate in the chassis 30.
For a reciprocating movement of the tray 40 from the body 10, the body 10 has a loading motor 11 and power transmission units 13a through c including a belt and a plurality of intermediate gears to transmit the power of the loading motor. In addition, a rack gear 42 is placed on a bottom surface of the tray 40. Thus, power provided from the loading motor 11 is transmitted to the rack gear 42 through the power transmission units 13a through c so as to cause the tray 40 to reciprocate.
The frame 20 is installed to be able to move the body 10 up and down with a pivot 22 supported by the body 10.
To this end, a cam element 12 that is installed in the body 10 receives the power of the loading motor 11 so as to reciprocate in a sideways direction. The cam element 12 has a cam hole 12a that is slanted in a height direction in which a cam protrusion 21 of the frame 20 is inserted. Here, the cam protrusion 21 is installed in the frame 20 to be able to move up and down so that the cam element 12 is able to ascend and descend along a trajectory of the cam hole 12a. The power provided to the cam element 12 is able to be transmitted or not transmitted according to the location of the tray 140. In other words, the cam element 12 receives power only when the tray 40 is almost loaded into the body 10 or when the tray 240 is completely loaded. The power is blocked in all other instances.
To this end, a protrusion 12c is formed on the cam element 12. The protrusion 12c comes in contact with an inclined portion 43a of a guide rail 43 and slides when the tray 40 is loaded into the body 10. That is, the cam element 12 moves to one side and a gear 12b interlocks with the power transmission unit 13c as the inclined portion 43a and the protrusion 12c come in contact with each other when the tray 40 is almost completely loaded into the body 10. Accordingly, the power of the loading motor 11 that loaded the tray 40 is changed in the sliding direction of the cam element 12.
Additionally, in order to prevent, for example, dust from entering into the body 10 after the tray 40 is loaded, a cover 50 with an aperture 51 and a door 55 to pivot within the aperture are installed on the front of the body 10 where the tray 40 enters. Here, opening and closing operations of the door 55 are carried out by a cooperation between a movement of the tray 40 and a restoring force of a spring 53 that is located at one side of the cover 50. In other words, when the tray 40 is located within the body 10, the door 55 does not interfere with the tray 40 and closes the aperture 51 by the restoration force of the spring 53.
On the other hand, when unloading the tray 40, an end 40a of the tray 40 comes in contact with the inner surface of the door 55 as the tray 40 is being ejected to the outside by being driven by the loading motor 11. Accordingly, the door 55 overcomes an elastic force of the spring 53 and pivots around a hinge so as to open the aperture 51.
When the tray 40 with the optical disk D placed thereon is loaded into the body 10, the frame 20 ascends as the cam element 12 slides. Then, the optical disk D is placed on top of the turntable 32. The ejection operation of the tray 40 is carried out conversely to the previously described operation.
The door 55 remains in the opened state when the tray 40 is unloaded or being loaded. Additionally, after the loading operation is completed, the door 55 does not contact the tray 40 and the aperture 51 is closed, which prevents, for example, dust from entering into the body 10.
The conventional optical disk player has a structure in which the door 55 is closed by the restoration force of the spring 53, and the door 55 is opened by a pushing force of the tray 40. Therefore, the loading motor 11, which provides power to unload the tray, may be overloaded by the restoration force of the spring 53 and a friction between the tray 40 and the body 10 during the unloading operation. Furthermore, noise is produced when opening and closing the door 55.
In addition when the end 40a of the tray 40 is designed to be round for the convenience of placing a cartridge-type optical disk, the entire surface of the door 55 does not come in contact with one side of the tray 40 simultaneously. That is, the door 55 could bend during the opening and the closing operations because only a part of the door 55 contacts the end 40a of the tray 40.